THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

690- Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony-The Hustle.

1975-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 0.35. Strictly Come (Disco) Dancing.

Van Allen Clinton McCoy was born on January 6th, 1940, in Washington D. C. United States, on June 29th, 1979, he suffered a heart attack, and was hospitalised and went in to a coma, he died on July 6th, 1979, at the age of 39. Van McCoy who had learned to play the piano at an early age, was already writing songs by the age of 12, as well as performing as a ‘Doo-Wop’ combo with his older brother Norman. In 1956 while still at school he formed the ‘Starlighters’ with three others, recording the novelty song ‘The Birdland,’ which gained some local interest. Over the next 23 years Van McCoy would go on to write approximately 700 songs, which have been recorded by many of the worlds top artists, including Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and The Stylistics. Some of his best known compositions include, ‘When You’re Young and in Love,’ (The Marvelettes) ‘I Get the Sweetest Feeling,’ (Jackie Wilson) and ‘This Is It,’ (Melba Moore.) He was also responsible for bringing together and mentoring the original American R&B duo of ‘Peaches & Herb,’ who were Herb Fame, and Francine Day (1947-2005.)

The discography of Van McCoy includes 11 studio Albums released between 1966-1979, and 33 singles issued between 1961-1979, there are also four official compilation Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, ‘The Hustle’ was his only top 40 hit, reaching the Number 1 spot, while in the UK, four of his singles made the top 40, with ‘The Shuffle,’ being his other top 5 hit, when peaking at Number 4 in 1976.

‘The Hustle’ was the only single released from Van McCoy’s second studio Album as ‘Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony,’ and his fourth studio Album overall. The track was written by Van McCoy, with the production being by Hugo Peretti, (1916-1986) and Luigi Creatore (1921-2015.) Van McCoy’s long term collaborator Charles Kipps had visited the ‘Adam’s Apple’ nightclub in New York City, and had watched the patrons doing a dance that they called ‘the hustle.’ Kipps reported to Van McCoy what he had seen, and McCoy wrote ‘The Hustle’ to compliment the dance. ‘The Hustle’ can boast some of the worlds top musicians playing on the track, which was recorded at New York’s ‘Mediasound’ studio. Van McCoy played the piano, and was supported by Gordon Edwards, (bass) Steve Gadd, (drums) Richard Tee, (1943-1993) (keyboards) Eric Gale, (1938-1994) (guitar) John Tropea, (guitar) and Phil Bodner (1917-2008) (piccolo.)

‘The Hustle’ was co-produced by Hugo Peretti, (1916-1986) and Luigi Creatore, (1921-2015) (see also best songs 194) and released on their record label ‘Avco Records,’ which they co-owned with the American film distributor, financier, and producer, Joseph E. Levine (1905-1987.) In 1976 Peretti, and Creatore bought out Levine, and renamed the label ‘H&L Records,’ which in 1978 filed for bankruptcy. According to Peretti, and Creatore, shortly before his death in 1979, Van McCoy had met with them to discuss the idea of releasing a new longer version of ‘The Hustle,’ as McCoy had been told that there would be a market for a ’12 inch Disco single’ release. The new version of ‘The Hustle’ was put together soon after the death of McCoy in 1979, and runs for around six and a half minutes. The track was assembled using parts of the original recording, plus new parts, including drum, Syndrum, and a ‘little’ Moog synthesizer. The track was credited to ‘Van McCoy’ alone, and mixed by ‘The Mixmasters,’ whose identity was not revealed, the remix is well worth a listen.

‘Do the Hustle.’